Li Zhen, Chen I-Chun, Cao Li, Liu Xiaowei, Huang Kuo-Wei, Lai Zhiping
Division of Physical Science and Engineering, King Abdullah University of Science and Technology (KAUST), Thuwal 23955-6900, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.
Science. 2024 Sep 27;385(6716):1438-1444. doi: 10.1126/science.adg8487. Epub 2024 Sep 26.
The sustainability of lithium-based energy storage or conversion systems, e.g., lithium-ion batteries, can be enhanced by establishing methods of efficient lithium extraction from harsh brines. In this work, we describe a decoupled membrane-free electrochemical cell that cycles lithium ions between iron-phosphate electrodes and features cathode (brine) and anode (fresh water) compartments that are isolated from each other yet electrochemically connected through a pair of silver/silver-halide redox electrodes. This design is compatible with harsh brines having magnesium/lithium molar ratios of up to 3258 and lithium concentrations down to 0.15 millimolar, enabling the production of battery-grade (>99.95% pure) lithium carbonate. Energy savings of up to ~21.5% were realized by efficiently harvesting the osmotic energy of the brines. A pilot-scale cell with an electrode surface area of 33.75 square meters was used to realize lithium extraction from Dead Sea brine with a recovery rate of 84.0%.
通过建立从高盐卤水中高效提取锂的方法，可以提高锂基储能或转换系统（例如锂离子电池）的可持续性。在这项工作中，我们描述了一种无膜解耦电化学电池，该电池使锂离子在磷酸铁电极之间循环，其特点是阴极（卤水）和阳极（淡水）隔室相互隔离，但通过一对银/卤化银氧化还原电极实现电化学连接。这种设计适用于镁/锂摩尔比高达3258且锂浓度低至0.15毫摩尔的高盐卤水，能够生产电池级（纯度>99.95%）碳酸锂。通过有效收集卤水的渗透能，实现了高达约21.5%的节能。使用电极表面积为33.75平方米的中试规模电池，从死海卤水中提取锂，回收率为84.0%。
